As of January 13, 2025 the cost of a postage stamp has gone up by 25 percent. When was the last time you purchased a stamp or book of stamps from Canada Post?
Black Press spoke with a local front desk postal worker (who prefers to remain anonymous) on January 14 in the North Thompson Valley in B.C., who explained, “If you have stamps in your possession for either personal or business use and note a ‘P’ in the bottom right hand corner the stamp remains at the same rate as when you purchased it, it’s permanent and won’t require additional postage when used. However when purchasing new stamps from January 13 onward, the price has gone from $1.15 to $1.44.”
Canada Post did announce in September of 2024 that Canadians should expect an increase in the coming year. For stamps purchased in a booklet, coil or pane, the most common stamp sales according to Canada Post, the rate increases by 25 cents, to $1.24. The price of a single domestic stamp increases to $1.44.
The Canada Post announcement states the January 13 rate change represents a one-time increase of “roughly” 25 per cent, which is justified by aligning stamp prices with the rising cost of providing letter mail service to “all Canadians,” pointing to fewer letters to deliver to more addresses, which ‘”adds significant cost pressures to the corporation on top of continued inflationary pressures.”
“Today’s rate change represents a one-time increase of roughly 25 per cent, which is required to better align stamp prices with the rising cost of providing letter mail service to all Canadians" noted Canada Post in a news release.
The postal service said the rate increases are “necessary,” reporting another significant loss in revenue before tax of $315 million in the third quarter of 2024.
Following a month-long strike, the corporation says it’s back to full service levels for domestic services, although Canadians will continue to experience delays for home mail delivery and international mail including parcel delivery as reported by the postal service at the beginning of January.